Yuba County officials aiding on Valley Fire
Yuba County Emergency Services personnel received a request from the state late Sunday morning to go to Lake County to assist in managing the Valley Fire.
They were at the scene by 2 p.m. the same day.
Emergency operations manager Scott Bryan is on a weeklong assignment as operations chief in Lake County, with responsibility over the fire branch, law branch, care and shelter, public health and public works.
Emergency planner Holly Powers is running the plans and intelligence-gathering section, with the job of maintaining a snapshot of what is occurring – the state of the fire, road closures, needs in care and shelter, etc.
“This is by far the most devastating fire for (Lake) County,” Bryan said in a phone interview late Wednesday afternoon.
About 18,000 to 19,000 people have been displaced, some due to temporary evacuations. About 600 families have lost their homes, Bryan said.
“We’re responsible for providing shelter for those that weren’t able to find shelter or didn’t have monetary means,” he said. At last count, that was somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 people needing shelter.
They are staying in schools in Lake County or in a large building that can hold hundreds of citizens at the Napa Valley Fairgrounds in Calistoga. Most sleep on cots inside, while some are out in tents, campers or mobile homes.
When issues arise, or some- thing needs to be coordinated, Bryan is taking charge alongside 45 to 50 personnel working in large conference rooms at a command center in Lakeport.
“Right now, one thing we’re working with is a lot of large dead animals. We’re working with animal services to dispose of these animals, and it’s created a public health emergency,” he said.
He is still in the process of identifying how many animals need to be removed and where they are; they’re working with neighboring animal services departments to dispose of the carcasses.
“At this time, we’re looking at cattle, horses and there has been mention of some exotic animals,” he said.
There’s been a lot of mutual aid from around the region, he said.
Food has been provided to displaced people through American Red Cross and Salvation Army.
“The generosity of citizens has really come out. Large barbecues have been organized to pick up spirits,” he said. “It’s got that feeling they’ve been through a lot together and they’re picking each other up.”
He and Powers plan to return home Sunday evening. Bryan may be deployed again.
“Normality is not going to be reached for some time in this county for the cleanup and environmental issues,” he said.
The Valley Fire is the third time he has been deployed outside Yuba County to aid in a disaster. In 2007, he was deployed to Southern California wildfires; in 2008, to lightning-complex fires in Butte County.